Soul Eater Vol. 13

Mifune reads a change in Black Star’s bearing before the book returns to the question that could make such a change meaningful. At Tsubaki’s family home, hospitality gives way to her father asking why Black Star fights. Being the strongest is his answer, and even the possibility of a demonic path does not immediately disqualify it for him. Tsubaki’s memory of her brother keeps that answer from functioning as a harmless boast. The flashback makes the duel slower to read, but it also makes confidence a less adequate explanation for what is happening in it. A fighter can lose his hesitation without having supplied a reason to trust his direction. The inspected opening earns its interruption by placing that unresolved judgment beside Mifune’s assessment; it does not yet settle either one.